I’ve tried allll the flours. Don’t waste your money and time on the gluten free flours below. Don’t get sucked in because the health claims are wild and compelling. Great gluten free baking relies on gluten free flours that add value via both texture and taste - and if it doesn’t cut it, you’ve got to move on. Which is what I’ve done. These guys are dead to me. Read why below. If you want to eat them - go for the wholegrain - puffed, soaked, activated or cooked. Just not the flour.
Tigernut flour. Do you like eating sand? I don’t, which is why I bought this once and never made the mistake again. Think tigernut milk only 8000 times worse. It tastes awful, the texture is the devil. I can’t remember what I baked with tigernut when it first came out but I can assure you that no one was eating the results. If I ran a gluten free kitchen for society’s worst, this is the gluten free flour I’d use.
Quinoa flour. Look I don’t want to sound bitter, but it’s just way too bitter and my good money was wasted on this under-achiever. Gluten free or not, we all went through a quinoa phase in the early 2000s and that’s where it should have stayed. If you’re going to eat it, eat the wholegrain version rather than ruining your gluten free baked goods.
Amaranth flour. Adds no value. Extremely expensive. Too fine for any regular baking. The only successful use case I have seen is with a rice and amaranth pasta. If you just HAVE to try amaranth in something, talk yourself out of it. If that doesn’t work buy a SMALL amount and add an EVEN SMALLER amount to your gluten free bread or pancake. But honestly, I wouldn’t bother.
Buckwheat flour – ok fine it’s not dead to me but it’s close. The reason it’s on this page is because it’s so grossly overused in gluten free baking relative to its utility. The texture is meh but the real problem for me is the bitter aftertaste. Please don’t bother using this flour in your sweet baked goods* – it’ll devalue your banana bread and DESTROY your cake. It’s too fine, it’s too bitter, leave it for the people without taste buds.
*Disclaimer - we do use buckwheat flour in our grain free pancake recipe but that’s basically where the relationship ends. Why in the pancakes then?? Look it just works – but to be honest it’s an easy gig when you’re being bolstered by almond, coconut and tapioca, basically the triple threat of the gluten free baking world. And you’re probably adding maple syrup on top which will mask any hint of bitterness later, so let’s not give the buckwheat too much credit.
Leave a comment